


Warm my soul

by kitbug



Series: The Tribulations of Andi Ryder [1]
Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: F/M, awkward pre-romance nonsense, but not quite ready to full on admit having something for each other, post-moshae rescue comfort fluff, ryder is smooth like sandpaper, when they're starting to get a little more than platonic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-12
Updated: 2017-10-12
Packaged: 2019-01-16 06:35:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12337413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitbug/pseuds/kitbug
Summary: Ryder's chilled after spending hours on Voeld rescuing the Moshae and Jaal needs a hug.  They kill two birds with one stone and dance around admitting they might want to be more than friends.  A take on the post-Moshae rescue conversation.





	Warm my soul

“S-Stupid Lexi and her s-stupid rules.”

Andi Ryder curled up in the nest she’d made from the duvet on her bed, a mug of hot coffee nestled in her hands.  Their rescue of the Moshae, who was currently resting in the medbay, had gone off mostly without a hitch.  She wasn’t sure she’d be sleeping well at night anytime soon though.  If she shuddered at the thought, she couldn’t tell because she was too busy shivering.  Humans were not built for several hours in subzero temperatures.  Kett indoor heating was pathetic at best, and there was only so much her suit could do against the prolonged exposure cold.

Lexi had forbidden her from jumping straight into a hot shower, citing shock from the disparate temperatures, and had insisted she bundle up in her room with a warm beverage for a while first.  SAM had agreed.  Jerk.  After much whining befitting to someone half her age, Andi acquiesced and retreated to her room.

She’d barely gotten settled when the comm on her door rang.

_ “Jaal is at the door.” _

“Let him in, SAM.”

The angara sauntered in and froze when he caught sight of her buried in the duvet with her hood up.  He cocked his head to the side, a habit he picked up from the rest of the crew.  “Are you… what is all this?” 

“Trying to get warm again.  I caught a chill.  I’m sorry, but Voeld fucking sucks.  It’s an iceball.  And Lexi won’t let me boil myself like a lobster to get warm again.”  She wiggled within the pile of bedding.  “So... blanket nest.”

“Humans remain cold after being exposed to it?  Your bodies cannot regain equilibrium on their own?  And what is a lobster?”

“Well, we do.  But it takes a while.  And apparently to be safe, it has to be done “slowly,” she said, with accompanying air quotes.  “And a lobster is an earth creature we cook by boiling.  It kinda looks like a big bug, but it has meaty claws and a tail that are delicious with butter.”

“Your home planet has so much edible biodiversity.  It must be a marvel.”

“I’ll show you some stuff next time we’re in the cultural center.”  She took a sip of her coffee.  “You seriously aren’t even a little chilled?  We were there a looooooong time in the base and then out in that storm.”

Jaal shook his head.  “No, we are not affected by the cold.  But we do not do well in extreme heat.”  He bowed his head slightly.  “I’m sorry you had to suffer for us.”

“Wait, what?  Don’t apologize.  No one twisted my arm for this, I wanted to help, vault or no vault.  Anyway, are  _ you _ okay?”  Andi pat the space on the bed beside her, inviting him to sit.  She set the mug on the bedside table.  “I was gonna come check on you in a bit, but you beat me to it.”

He accepted the invitation and settled next to her with his back against the headboard.  “I just wanted to thank you for your help.  And I do wish to speak with you about the kett facility.  And…” He paused to consider something before speaking again.  “If you would allow, I think I might be able to help your ‘chill.’”

“Hey, if you know something that would help, knock yourself out.”

“Why woul I--?"

“Idiom. It means go for it. Please.  Help me warm up.”

Before Andi realized what he was doing, he effortlessly scooped her up.  He settled with his back against the headboard and deposited her into his lap, holding her flush against his chest.

“Um… Jaal?”  Her face felt like it was on fire.  “W-What are you doing?”

“I learned from a discussion about biology with Lexi that a human’s body temperature is several degrees colder than an angara’s.  Am I… making you uncomfortable?”

“No no no, of course not,” she denied far too quickly.  “You just, um, surprised me is all.”  

Andi wiggled a bit, finding a slightly more comfortable position against the center of his chest, and relaxed against him.  He was… more comfy than he’d looked, with all his ropey alien musculature, when she’d walked in on his and Liam’s armor-trade-insult match.  His arms crossed over in front of her in a secure embrace.  He rested his chin on the top of her head.  Feeling a bit like a teddy bear in the lap of a child, she started to wonder if this was more for his comfort than hers.

“Hey, Jaal?”

“Yes?”

“If you wanted a hug, all you had to do was ask.  You didn’t have to play at warming me up,” she chided, jest obvious.

Jaal scoffed.  “Why can’t I kill two birds in the bush?”

Seconds ticked by as Andi attempted to figure out what she’d just heard.  “Did you… oh my god.  You just butchered  _ two _ idioms.”  She cackled with delight.

He made a disgusted noise.  “Shit.”

“I’m sorry.”  She chuckled again.  “I promise I won’t tell Liam.”

Jaal gave a pleased hum that reverberated against her back like a cat’s purr.  “I would appreciate that.”

Andi freed one of her arms from his embrace to give his leg a fond pat.  “In all seriousness, though, how are you holding up?  Are you okay?”

“Thank you for asking, but I’m… alright.”

“Don’t know if I would be.”

“I have to be.”  He sighed.  “How else can we go on, you know?”

“You wanna talk about it?  I may seem tough, but I have a good shoulder.”

“That’s… kind.  You’re kind.”  He buried his face against her shoulder.  “At times like this, I really miss my family.”

Andi’s gaze caught on the black helmet resting on a table across the room.  Her father’s, the only thing, outside of SAM, she had to remember him by.  “Y-yeah.  I know what you mean.”

“Are you close with your family?”

“Are you?”  She deflected the question with her own.  “You talk about family a lot.”

He chuckled.  “Is that strange?  I guess it’s part of our culture.  Our families are very large, and we share our parents within the community.  We all have many mothers.”

“My family’s small.”

“And are you close?”

“Yeah.  I was--” Her voice hitched and she corrected herself.  “Am.  My mom and dad are both dead.  My brother… he’s in a medically induced coma, back on the Hyperion.  I’m kind of an orphan right now.”

“I’m sorry.”  The arms around her tightened.  “You are all alone now?”

“Yeah.  It sucks.  Scott’s always been my rock.  Dealing with everything without him has been… harder than I’d like to admit.”  She gave him a shaky chuckle.  “But, this fucked up group of Tempest oddballs sometimes feels like a family.  That helps.”

Jaal hummed his agreement.  “Yeah.  I… never really felt like I had a purpose.  But here, I do.”

Andi craned her neck around to look at him in surprise.  “What about the Resistance?”

He hesitated and weighed his words before answering.  “My place with the Resistance is... not what I would like.

“But, that kid on Aya looked up to you.  And Evfra all but threatened to gut me if anything happened to you.”

“Evfra gives that impression to most people about most things.”  He laughed, and then sobered.  “But you are going to do something important, Andi.  This is where I feel I should be.”

Andi turned back around and settled against him once again.  “I’m glad you’re here.  I like having you around.”  After a moment, she added, “Specifically you.”

She could feel Jaal’s hesitation before he asked, “Because of my skills and knowledge?”

“Not really,” she said.  Her voice was light to kill any sting the words might have.

“Because you enjoy spending time with me as much as I do with you.”  It wasn’t a question.

Andi felt her face burning again and resisted the urge to bury it in her hands.  She couldn’t tell if he meant to come across as he did, with  _ that _ kind of interest.  But she really hoped he did.  And that he couldn’t feel how hard her heart was beating.  “... you do?”

“Yes,” he said with finality and no hesitation.  “You’re fascinating.  And special.  And,” he chuckled, “strange.”

“Awwww, thanks.”  Between his proximity and his words, her brain couldn’t put anything more cohesive together.

_ “Pathfinder, your core body temperature has risen to Dr. T’Perro’s satisfaction, and she has granted you permission for your hot shower.  Additionally, your heartrate is elevated beyond normal para--” _

Andi froze like a deer in headlights when the A.I.’s voice started from her omnitool, and then she practically threw herself off the angara.  “That’s okay SAM, everything is fine, thank you!  I-- fuck!”  She overbalanced and slid off the bed into an inglorious heap on the floor, tangled in the duvet.

Jaal’s rich laughter rumbled overhead, and he helped her free of the treacherous bedding.  As far as she could tell, he was amused rather than offended by her sudden exodus.  When she was free and on her feet again, he nodded towards the door.  “I should… check on the Moshae.  Enjoy your shower.”

“I… y-yeah, you too,” she stammered as she followed to see him out and then facepalmed.   _ Smooth, Andi.  Real smooth. _  “I mean--”

“I know.”  He was still chuckling as he headed out.  “And, Andi?”

She lowered her hands enough to meet his soft gaze.  “... yes?”

“I meant it.”

The door slid shut, and she rested her forehead on the cool metal.  She didn’t need a hot shower, she needed a fucking cold one.  

**Author's Note:**

> hi my name is kitbug and i write dumb self-indulgent fluff. I started writing this like...months ago and finally finished it. also I like to think the crew hunts Ryder down when they need to chat with her when they know she's on-board.
> 
> tumblargh is [here](http://kittlesandbugs.tumblr.com) if you feel like swinging by to chat or whatevs


End file.
